Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel Interview

Horde survivors has seen a boom, with many developers trying their hand at the genre and trying different ways to make each title stand out amongst its peers. Developed by Games Farm and ARTillery and published by Grindstone Publishing, Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel puts its own Norse spin on things, with a Switch 2 version recently joining last year’s PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S launch. Matej Hudák, Publishing Director of Grindstone Publishing, took some time to discuss the game’s future, the recent crossover with Conan the Barbarian, and the publisher’s future plans.

Ryan Costa (RPGamer): What about the praise for Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel has surprised the team the most?

Matej Hudák: Honestly, we didn’t expect this. Jotunnslayer is the biggest thing we’ve ever done, and we’re still a bit stunned by it. The best part wasn’t the numbers though — it was reading what people actually wrote about the game. Players got what we were going for, and then went out and told other people about it. That still means a lot to us.

RPGamer: How has the game most changed from original conception to the latest iteration?

MH: The dark Norse horde-survivor idea was there from day one. Everything else got reshaped once players started playing it. Weapon balance, spell picks, pacing — a huge amount of that came straight from community feedback.

RPGamer: After specializing in more story focused titles as a developer, what led to Jotunnslayer‘s more action roots being the first game published under the Grindstone name?

MH: We wanted something fast and punchy. We’re ARPG people at heart, so horde-survivor felt like home. Popular genre, stuff we’re actually good at — it just clicked. And after years of slower, story-driven work, the whole team was itching to build something you can pick up and immediately feel.

RPGamer: Can you give a quick crash course in explaining the differences in classes for horde survivor newcomers?

MH: Think classic RPG archetypes. The Berserker is your big damage bruiser, the Seeress is the caster, the Revenant is the ranged hunter, the Flame Sister leans rogue — and there are more. But the real answer is: it depends on your build. The customization runs deep enough that two people playing the same class can end up with completely different runs.

RPGamer: The game recently received a crossover with Conan the Barbarian. Will there be more crossovers and updates in the future?

MH: The Conan crossover was a blast and people loved it. We’d absolutely love to do more. We’re keeping an eye on which worlds actually fit the tone of Jotunnslayer, because a crossover only works if it feels like it belongs. While we can’t share specific details just yet, we are definitely excited to see what opportunities the future brings.

RPGamer: Players are given a large amount of banish and reroll options to avoid unwanted skills. Was the main reasoning to deal with the spikes in higher difficulties or something else entirely?

MH: The primary goal was player agency. Randomness is fun until it locks you into a build you hate. Banishes and rerolls let you fight back against bad luck, chase the build you actually want, and get properly ready for the higher difficulties on your own terms.

RPGamer: The level of flashy effects in all the different projective attacks are impressive. Was it difficult coming up with new attacks to make each character feel different?

MH: Giving every character a distinct look and feel without turning the screen into soup is a real challenge. A lot of it came down to readability — you should be able to tell what’s yours and what’s about to kill you at a glance. Our devs went at it with a lot of passion, and we think it shows.

RPGamer: Are there certain classes that typically pair better with particular Norse god skills, or is the aim to have a large quantity of build variety?

MH: Build variety is the whole point. There’s no correct way to play. Ask ten players which god pairs best with which class and you’ll get ten different answers. Some of the combos people have found are ones we never even considered internally. That’s exactly what we wanted — go experiment.

RPGamer: With so many varieties to mix and match skills from. Has there been any thoughts to expanding subclasses in a similar manner?

MH: It’s definitely an exciting concept. Right now the mix of base classes and divine blessings already gives you a huge combination matrix that works a lot like a fluid subclass system. We’d rather deepen what’s already there than bolt on another layer for the sake of it. We’re focused on nailing the current balance, but we’re listening to what players want from progression.

RPGamer: Can you share anything about what’s coming next from Grindstone Publishing?

MH: Next up for Grindstone is Hellforged — a bullet-heaven game with an extraction twist. It’s picked up a lot of traction and great feedback in playtests, and we’ve got a big gameplay demo coming in August. There’s also another project cooking that we can’t talk about yet. Later this year.

RPGamer: Is there anything else that you would love to share about the game?

MH: One thing we are incredibly proud of is how collaborative the development process has been. Jotunnslayer wasn’t built in a vacuum — it was built alongside our community. Survivor-genre fans are ridiculously passionate, and being able to iterate out in the open with them has set the bar for how we want to work from now on.

We would like to thanks Matej for taking the time to answer our questions, as well as to Matt Greloch, Grindstone Publishing PR Manager, for setting up the interview. Those looking to play Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel can do so now on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.